The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Here’s the essential differences between AOL’s cancel script, the sheet pasted over every AOL cancel reps cubicle to tell them how to handle your cancellation request, from two years ago and today’s. Inside, full images of both.

Rebuffed by former neo-Nazi Davis Wolfgang Hawke’s parents, AOL turned to his grandparent’s yard in their search for gold. AOL won a $13 million spam suit against Hawke last year but has been unable to collect. They’re convinced Hawke buried $351,000 in gold and platinum bars on his parent’s property. Or his grandparents. Whoever comes first.

Chowdhury wasn’t just “some rogue researcher” at AOL, according to his CV he was “Chief Architect.” As in, Chief Architect of Information. Among the accomplishments he achieved since May 2000, he includes:

This site, when it all comes down to it, features the CSR as protagonist. Sometimes he’s the hero, bending company bureaucracy, flouting his own training because he feels sympathy. More often, he’s the anti-hero, speaking in circles and thwarting any attempt to get satisfaction from a customer. But it’s all about the CSR.